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The Roman Empire had a series of tariffs in different parts of the empire, although generally there was no unified system. There were internal tariffs, which governed goods that moved within the empire. These goods were taxed at rates ranging between 1-5 percent. Foreign goods could be taxed at rates ranging between 12-25 percent. This often made luxury goods well beyond the means of average Romans. Goods from the East were particularly taxed at high rates. Silk from China, for instance, was in high demand but could mostly only be afforded by the upper elites.<ref>For more on Roman Empire trade, tariffs, and taxes, see: Temin, Peter. 2017. <i>The Roman Market Economy. The Princeton Economic History of the Western World</i>. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press. </ref>
In the Medieval period, around the 13th century, we begin to see more regulation of tariff costs for specific commodities. Wool, for instance, was heavily regulated in England in the 13th and 14th centuries. Tariffs were relatively high as wool was seen as an important pillar of the English Medieval economy and protecting it was a chief goal. Other commodities, such as skins and leather, lead, tin, butter, cheese, lard and grease, were levied as well. However, rather than a specified rate, often the taxes were based on the container of the commodity of trade. For instance, a sack of wool was levied at roughly 6 shillings and 8 pence. This could allow merchants, of course, to cheat more easily by switching commodities in sacks, which were taxed at variable rates, or containers were smuggled without a tax. Items would be weighed but the volume of trade meant not everything could be easily inspected. Ports and trade routes were often levied to directly benefit the crown. This tradition in England, nevertheless, began to influence the rise and development of the modern concept of tariffs that occurred as Britain expanded into an empire in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref>For more on Medieval trade in England and its tariffs, see: Rose, Susan. 2018. <i>The Wealth of England: The Medieval Wool Trade and Its Political Importance 1100-1600</i>. Oxford: Oxbow Books.</ref>
====Modern Tariffs====
Gradually, Britain reduced tariffs and entirely removed them for food commodities in 1840s with the repeal of the Corn Laws (Figure 2). This was, in part, motivated by events in Ireland, which was experiencing the Great Famine that led to a need to export food. Tariffs were often seen as a way to protect domestic industry and economic sectors such as agriculture.
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Gradually, throughout the 19th century, as industrial production increased, reducing tariffs was seen as a way to benefit economies looking towards exports of manufactured goods as a mean to growth economies through trade. This followed a general trend throughout Europe, as the economies became more integrated and greater trade now began to flow, resulting in reduced tariffs in Europe. Rather than reduce competition, increased trade spurred countries to emulate each other. Germany in particular began to greatly expand its industries as it rapidly developed its economy and began to be more competitive in trade.<ref>For more on 19th century tariffs and changing attitudes towards them throughout the 19th century in Europe and Britain, see: Howe, Anthony. 1997. <i>Free Trade and Liberal England, 1846-1946</i>. Oxford : New York: Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press. </ref>
====Recent Developments====
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Events after World War II have shaped recent economic approaches to tariffs. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947 was created with 23 countries in order to help foster multilateral trade that would help the global economy recover after World War II. The GATT became the foundation in which the World Trade Organization (WTO) was built, as it became its successor. The intent of this new economic order was also to fight Communism and trade was seen as vital for US policy in order to counter what they saw as threats from the Soviet Union in attracting countries to their sphere.
However, there has been a lot of controversy around this, as increasingly globalized trade is seen as producing environmental harm, weakening manufacturing in some countries, and some see it as having forced some countries to conform to a single global economic order that not all agree with.
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